Draft-gear.



A1 E. OSTRANDER.

` DRAFT GEAR. APBLICATION vFILED FFB. I5, 1912.

ALLEN' E.'OSTRANDER, OF-RIDGEWOOD, NEW J'IEII-\'.SIE}Y1 ASSIGNORVTO UNIVERSAL DRAFTGEAR ATTACHMENT COMPANY, A CORPORATION F ILLINOIS.

DRAFT-GEAR.

Totali whom it may concern i Be it known that I, ALLEN E. OSTRANDER, residing at Ridgewood, Bergen county, New

.Jersey, and being a citizen of the United States, have invented certain new and uses ful Improvements in Draft-Gears, of whichv the following is a. full, clear, andexact descriptipn, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and to use-.the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which' illustrate' though i Sectional. plan view showing the parts in assembled relation. `Fig. 2 is a. detail sec' 1 tional elevational view .showing several parts in assembled relation.

, United States,

The object of the invention is toprovideA in a single casting a draft gear yokefadapted for use with several of the standard or patented friction draft gears now infusevin the such as the Westinghouse,the Sessions,

vdraft gears, in each of which there' are friction elements and springs, the present invention comprisingln a unitary casting a rear follower and la yoke, of the same gen-v erall design, adapted for use with either of such draft gears.v Italso contemplates the adaptation of such draft'gears for use as centering devices, to coac't with the shank vof a coupling with which the yoke ofthe" connected by, preff eribly, a horizontally extending key coiny and inclosed 'dra-ft gear; parts, with .the coupler shank. accoinfunction the yyoke lis equipped-with a' front follower of novelde` signwhifch--will be Isubstituted for the front follo'vverrnow used withfsuch' draft gears.

present invention'is to be necting the yoke,

plish f ,this-j latter Tofacilitate assembling theseveral parts of fsfl'rcii vdraft gears, placement vof the 'and also to expedite the yoke here illustrated, the forward part of the fyoke is provided with lugs or stopswhich Specification of Letters Patent.

said drawings: Figure l is a'detailv ,the Cardwell and vother friction.

.\jointly, and severally each as heretofore to draft gears when in the' Aline, and'I terminate in verti`c`al` alinement A,with the Patented Get. 3, i916.

Application filed February 15, 1912. Serial N o. 677,6?7. v'

serve as abutments against which the front follower mayrest and by which-such follower is held in one direction.. 4

It is preferred4 that the dimensions of the yoke shall be such that the distance between follower stops on the draft one Yeighth of an inch, greater than the distance between the front face of the front follower and the rear contacting face of the rear follower-thus permitting the assem-` bled draft gear parts and the yoke to be easily placed in position between the front and rear lfollower stops.

plication I prefer tofmake the draft gear, theyoke and the centering devicevfunction secure, ina single device, their several functions.' Thus the draftfyoke is a part of theI 'draft 'gear andthe 'forward or front fol- This slight sepa ration of co-acting followers4 and follower sills shall be, sav z y aid of extraneous devices whichlend to comlower fis thecompressionelement in-my centering .device and, without straining the yoke lby areason `ofrocking lthe Coupler shank,

against it`, I spreadthe jaws of the yoke to ipeririit 'all Y necessary radial coupler travel ',a-ndutilize the front "flloverjfduring such radial travel to compress jthe'ilraft gear ele- -mentsfas'f may be necessary to causeA said draftgear-to exert its full, or necessary,

1 `power to a ainfcenter the coupler.

,'Iteferrin to Ithel aparts of the improved yoke the rearfollo'wer is cast' integral with the vforward-ly extending arms 2 2, of

which arms there are four, two -of which -are disposed at .each side of the medianV which arms may be said to` studs 3, which gstu'ds are adapted to serve I as stops for the front follower 19 of the `the coupler shank being transversely slotted for' the reception of the key 5, as is, common in the art. It will be noted that the improved yoke is provided with vertical side walls 7, and with top and bottom horizontal walls 8--8, whereby there Ais provided a hood, lwhich is adapted to servev as' a receptacle for friction elements or coperating parts of a friction draft gear, though it is to be understood that the said hood or pocket is not intended to be lused as a' friction element of such draftgear.

Extending. vertically from the'rear face ofthe follower 1 are strengthening ribs 9, three in number being illustrated, although any V suitable number may be used. It will be noted that the rear face 10 of the rear follower lis, except for the ribs 9 before' indicated, a plane, and angular corners 11 are provided to permit a tightt and surface .contact against any rigid abutment as for example the rear follower stops- 12, which are preferably applied as ordinaril applied and preferably riveted to the dra t sills by through rivets. The arms 2 are wider at their rear ends than'at their front ends, and are of sufficient width to'serve as supports for movable elements of a'ifriction draft gear supported on the lower pair of such arms, the top arms 2 being preferably identical in conformation with the lower arms, so that the yoke may be used with either face at thetop. Beyond the lugs 3 the upper'arms 2 diverge outwardly,`as shown in the-assembled View, .so that the extensions 13 thereof pass almost `in contact with the front follower stops 14, with the outer edges of the extensions 13 extending parallelwith the inclined inner faces of such front follower stops, thereby providing a tapering recess' or socket adapted toreceive the coupler shank, which recess or socket is relatively narrow at its inner end adjacent the front follower of the draft gear, and is considerably wider at its forward or outer end. The objectjof thus l tapering the parts is to permit radial travel of the coupler upon the key 5 without impinging the arms 13 of the yoke, through which the key 5 passes to lock the coup er and yoke in operative relation.

' The front follower 19of the draft yoke rests normally in contact-with the'inner faces of the studs 3 before referred to, and is niaintained` in that positionvbythe resilient coperating parts of the draft gear un' der normal conditions. The front follower is ofpeculiar Aconstruction and is provided messia at each side of the center line thereof'with a bracket 1G recessed in. its forward face portion to receive the rear edge of the key 5 before indicated. i

@wing to the'coperative positions of thev yoke, coupler shank, key, front follower and the brackets of the front follower, it will be observed that radial travel of the coupler will swing the coupler and the key 5.l 'lfhe key 5 substantially fills the transverse slot in the coupler shank as indicated in Fig., `1, through which slot it is projected to con- .nect the' coupler and the yoke, in vconsequence of which said key moves with the coupler vradially 'and longitudinally ofthe' coupler travel or transversely of the. key

substantially as if they were formed in te'grally.- The key 5 is free to move rearwardly in the yoke. The two flat faces, the one on the draw bar and-the other on'tlie- 'follower when moved apart by the angling of the draw bar are forced into the original position by the resiliency of the-spring rigging., As soon as the pressure, which cause the coupler to Swingin one' direction or.- the other, is relieved, the recoil of the draft gear parts will project the followerforward into contact with the pair of studs 3, which such angling movement caused it to leave during 4 the radialv travel of the coupler, thereby automatically'centerin .the draw bar with reference to the front kollowen'. This would be impossible with a draft gear as ordinarily constructedin'which the forward portion or e jaws in transverse alinement with the eeupler shank`rest in close contactwith such coupler shank. OwingI to the spread of the forward ends 13 of the arms 2 a sutlicient clearance is permittedbetweenv such armsto permit all necessary and ordinarily allowable radial coupler travel. lf the arms 13 vare not placed in an angular position with reference to the longitudinal -axis `of the coupler, sufficient clearance will notbe provided for radial ,travel of the coupler beL tween such arms, and if the .outer face of these arms 13 is not angular with reference to theA longitudinal axis, there will not be sufhcient clearance between such arms and the draft sills `for the front follower stops.

The draft sills being spaced as required by Master' Carv Builders Association. rules', 12g" apart, it is evident that to permit the described radial travel la close adjustment of parts is necessary.. To reinforce the' metal forming the arms 13, ribs 1*? are cast .l

erative parts of the draft gear may be inspected, and spacing the arms 2-7-2 vertil cally, as shown in the side elevational view, there is provided a clear space through which may project the spring-bolt incident to draft gears of the friction type, which utilize laterally projecting springs, and to permit the necessary amount of longitudinal travel of such spring-bolt, I prefer to cut the side walls 7, as shown in the vside elevational view and form the front edge thereof in a curved line, said side wall being longer at the top and bottom than at the middle. l l

In assen'ibling the class of draft gears in the yoke here shown, which draft gears are not equipped with laterally projecting springs adapted to extend beyond the draft sills, all the parts may be placed in position within the yoke, after which the yoke with inclosed draft gear may be lifted into position between the draft sills, and inassembling and positioning draft gears in which the laterally projecting springs 'are utilized extending beyond the draft sills, the friction elements may be assembled within the yoke, after which the spring rod may be projected through the sills, friction elements and yoke, andV the springs subsequently applied'.

IVhile exact dimensions are not absolutely essential, it will be borne in mind that the present invention is adapted for application to cars built in accordance with Master Car Builders Association requirements, in which the distance between draft sills is fixed, as is also the distance between front and rear follower stops attached to said draft sills, hence it is evident that a practical `working condition is intended to be met, and not a mere theory of position of parts.

It will be observed that the end portions of the key 5 are 'cut-away at the corners 5, 5a, so as to permit the key to be driven into position and fit closely between the forward ends of the extensions 16 of the front follower 19 and the rear vinner faces of the arms 13 within the loop formed therebetween so as to place the parts in such practical working condition that the forward extensions 16 will bear at all times against the key 5 and thereby serve to center the draw bar with reference to the front follower and the draft sillsv as shown in Fig. l of the drawings.

lVhat I claim is:- v

l. In a .draft gear, a yoke formed with rear end, top and bottom members and having an opening in its side for the insertion transversely of aA front follower plate, a front follower plate therein, and extensions on said follower plate to center the draw bar with reference to the front follower on the return movement of the draw bar from the extreme position under draft strains.

2. In a draft gear, a yoke formed with rear end, top and bottom members and having an opening in its'sidefor thel insertion transversely of a front follower plate, a front follower plate therein, and extensions on said follower plate to automatically cen- A ter the draw bar with reference to the front follower on the return movement of the draw. bar from the extreme position under draft strains.

3. In a car construction, draft sills, a draft gear, a coupler, a yoke looselyconnected with the coupler, a coupling member connecting coupler and yoke and free to move A rearwardly in said yoke and a front follower coacting with said member and the draft' gear to center the coupler.

4:. In combination, a yoke, a coupler with lateral extensions connected with the yoke, a front follower and-'extensions on said follower jadapted to. bear against said lateral extensions whereby the front follower is adapted to center the coupler.

5. The combination with draft sills and a coupler, of a draft yoke', aikey connecting said yoke with said coupler, the yoke being formed of a single casting including sta- `tionary front follower stops, a'front follower carried byv said yoke and normally engaging lsaid stopsand vhaving extensions forwardly of lsaid stops adapted in Acertain positions to vcenter the draw "bar 'with reference to the front follower on the return movement ofthe draw bar from the extreme position under draft strains, said key being freely movable in said yoke in one direction independently of said yoke.

'.6. In a car construction, draft sills, a draft gear, a coupler and a yoke loosely connected with said coupler, the yoke having ends lapping the coupler and spaced therefrom diverging outwardly to permit radial coupler travel in the lapping portion of the yoke, a transversely disposed key freely movable in one 'direction independently of said yoke, and resilently controlled means having extensions adapted to automatically center the drawbar with reference to 1the said means.

7. In a draft gear, a front followerl having a recessed front end, a yoke having soA ioo

spaced -forwardly directed divergent eXtensions between which the coupler is radially movable, a coupler key removably, pos1t1oned in said extensions, and mea-ns on the front formed asl an integral casting and com` prising a rear hood, top andvbottom arms extending forwardly from said hood said lengtlr and terminating in a loop at each arms being spaced apart vertically and hor izontally for the -major portion of their' side and stop luggfs.v formed integral with :said

. arms naar their outer ends and intexq'iediy ate said ends 'and the said'hood.

9. n combination, 'a draft gea-1' yoke formed as an integral casting comprising a rear lxooded. follower with 'orivv/ardlyvexn tending spaced arms terminating in looped end portiong and with Stop lugs intermediate' said hood and looped ends and a separately,

mimmo 

